Are we ready to sacrifice for the Gospel?

"The freedom of this city is not negotiable.."    ~ John F. Kennedy, Berlin, 1961

"We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty..."
     ~ John F. Kennedy, Inaugural address, January 20, 1961

"Greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city! There is no one like our God!" ~ Chris Tomlin, God of This City, 2008.

One of the greatest sacrifices the church seems to be making is the sacrifice of forgoing the Gospel.  There seems to be a rush of pastors leaving the pulpit of the traditional church at an alarming rate in the western hemisphere.  Thankfully, the majority of those who are leaving are doing so with honorable intentions, having become fed up with a congregation of unsalty Christians who seem to have forgotten that men and women are enslaved to sin.  What our world needs is not more organs, pews and summer youth vacations.  What our world needs is freedom; freedom that only Christ can bring.  Freedom from the bondage of slavery to evil.  Freedom from being destined to eternity away from God, suffering His wrath.

We need brave men and women, young men and girls who are willing to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship in order to take the message of Jesus Christ into our schools, our workplace, our community clubs and into the world.  We can rest assured that we will be successful, because God is the God of the city! 

I am saddened at the rate of decline in our mainline denominations and churches; I am saddened by the shrinking pool of pastors in established, evangelical churches.  But I am thrilled at the number of men and women who have faced the ridicule of others, who have bet against the odds, who have stepped out in faith to start a new movement that I believe might very well be greater than The Great Reformation in scope.  All this in an effort to take Christ to the masses.  I pray that our generation will be the start of Revolution.  So let it be Lord, so let it be!

Great Book!

My mentor has given me an unusual assignment.  I am reading Nelson Searcy's book Fusion. My task? To figure it out.  It is a must read for church planters/pastors.  Fusion is a very strategized method of helping first time guests become active, fully engaged members of your church.  For the strategist, it may also hold the key to outreach for ministries such as http://www.angelfoodministries.com/.  The guidance can be adapted to facilitate a positive experience for the community that you serve through these ministries.  Outreach has occured until you have touched the stranger and made him or her your friend, demonstrated the message of Christ and offered them a place to belong. 


Another set of great complimentary reads are The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren and Good to Great by Jim Collins.  Both shed light on multiple problems that keep churches "and organizations" from being effective and excelling.  Rick Warren has incredible insight into a deadly flaw that creeps into every church - loss of purpose.
Jim Collins book is a secular book that brings clarity to the leader of good organizations that just can't seem to make a leap to greatness.  Though secular by definition, the principles you will discover herein are both modern and ancient.  Just read the gospels and see how Jesus led a group of religious leftovers to transform the world through Christianity.

While you are trying to keep those you reach, read Why Small Groups by Mahaney.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.